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Pizza Casserole

If you like pizza you will love this casserole. Pepperoni, sausage, green peppers, mushrooms, onions and homemade pizza sauce are tossed with rotini pasta, topped with mozzarella and baked until bubbly. Just think of it as your favorite combination pizza turned into a tummy warming dish fit for a Sunday supper.

Casseroles gained popularity in the 1950s because of their simplicity. They are easy, one dish meals that can feed an army and as a bonus they freeze quite well. This pizza casserole is no exception. This recipe makes enough to fill two 8″ x 8″ inch casserole dishes. That way you can bake one casserole one night and freeze the other casserole to use for another night when you just don’t have much time to spend in the kitchen.

Note: For this recipe, the cheese that is added to the top before baking is left off of the casserole that you freeze. When you are ready to bake the second casserole you will need 2 cups of freshly shredded mozzarella and 1/4 cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese.

Pizza Casserole

Pepperoni, sausage, green peppers, mushrooms, onions and homemade pizza sauce are tossed with rotini pasta, topped with mozzarella and baked until bubbly.
Prep Time 15 mins
Cook Time 25 mins
Total Time 40 mins
Course Main Dishes
Cuisine American
Servings 8 Servings

Ingredients
  

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound dried rotini pasta
  • kosher salt
  • 1 pound hot or mild ground Italian sausage
  • 1 green bell pepper ribs and seeds removed, diced
  • 1/2 cup chopped red onion
  • 1 cup chopped button mushrooms
  • 1/2 cup diced pepperoni
  • 1 cup pizza sauce
  • 2 cups shredded mozzarella
  • 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Bring a large pot of water to boil. Season liberally with salt, about 1 tablespoon. Cook pasta for 6-7 minutes. Strain. Pasta will be firm.
  • In a large skillet brown Italian sausage, about 5 minutes. Strain.
  • In the same pan you cooked the sausage stir together bell pepper, red onion, mushrooms and pepperoni. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until vegetables soften. Return sausage to pan. Stir to combine. Add in pasta and pizza sauce. Mix well. Remove from heat.
  • To bake one casserole: Place half of the casserole mixture into a 8" x 8" glass casserole dish. Sprinkle 1 1/2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese on top. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove. Top 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Place under the broiler for 1-2 minutes or until cheese starts to brown. Serve immediately.
  • To freeze one casserole. Line a 8" x 8" casserole dish with foil, making sure to leave enough hanging off the sides to wrap around the casserole.Spoon remaining half of casserole mixture into prepared pan. Set pan on top of ice water to cool rapidly. Then freeze for a couple of hours or until firm. Lift the frozen casserole out of the dish, wrap in foil and place in a plastic freezer bag. Cook within 2-3 months.
  • When ready to bake, place frozen casserole in casserole dish and thaw in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Unwrap the casserole. Sprinkle 1 1/2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese on top and bake for 20-25 minutes or until mozzarella is melted and casserole is heated through. Remove from oven sprinkle 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella and 1/4 shredded Parmesan on top. Place under the broiler for 1-2 minutes or until the cheese starts to brown.
  • Serve immediately.

Notes

Enjoy!
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Keywords: baked pasta, bell peppers, casserole, frozen cacsserole, italian sausage, Mushrooms, onions, pasta, pasta bake, pepperoni, pizza, pizza bake, red onion, sausage

Leave a Comment

Recipe Rating




  • Reply
    Deseree
    December 16, 2012 at 9:40 am

    Carmen- I think you can keep the temp at 350 but you might need to increase the time. I’d say 25 minutes or so. Hope you enjoy it!

  • Reply
    Carmen
    December 15, 2012 at 9:24 pm

    I don’t want to make a casserole to freeze, but I also don’t have 2 8 X 8 glass pans. If I keep all of the measurements the same, I think I can fit the casserole into 1 9 X 13 pan, but do you think I should change the cook time or temperature if I do that? Thanks!

  • Reply
    Amanda
    June 28, 2012 at 10:12 am

    I have made this a few times and the family LOVES it. Followed it to the T and it was sooo flavorful and easy to prepare. A+++!

    • Reply
      Deseree
      June 29, 2012 at 7:09 pm

      Happy to hear this Amanda!

  • Reply
    Kathryn
    June 17, 2012 at 12:00 pm

    I want to make these like a pig wants to roll in the mud, like a dog wants to chase a cat, and like a cookie wants to be dipped in milk. My life is complete!

  • Reply
    Jaiden
    June 17, 2012 at 11:55 am

    This looks so good!! I want to whip up a batch right now!! I agree with you Angel 100% I’m going to cook it right when I get home also :) Thanks so much for the recipe Deseree!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Reply
    Angel
    March 12, 2012 at 12:53 am

    I’ll cook this when I got home soon :-) It looks yummy. Thanks for the recipe.

  • Reply
    Sarah
    April 5, 2010 at 8:25 am

    I am SOOOO trying this! God, I have such a long list of to-try things. It’s driving me nuts. But this, this has gone to the top of the list. It’s probably going on my list for next week! Yum!

  • Reply
    Brenna
    March 25, 2010 at 8:58 am

    Hey this recipe looks great but I don’t have a glass 8×8 pan. Could I use a metal pan with out it affecting the recipe?

    • Reply
      Deseree
      March 25, 2010 at 9:03 am

      Hi Breanna, while I prefer a glass pan, I think that you could use a metal pan and it won’t affect the recipe too much. I hope you enjoy it!

  • Reply
    Carly Rae
    March 14, 2010 at 4:33 pm

    This is a WONDERFUL recipe. The only thing that needs alteration is you need more than one cup of sauce, the first time I made it by following directions to a T. and it was a little dry. Add a little more sauce and some red pepper flakes and bon apetite

  • Reply
    tara
    February 15, 2010 at 10:03 pm

    I have a very large family ages ranging from 6mo-12yrs, so having that many kids plus 2 adults. So money is tight, if I freeze this with the noodles will the noodles get soggy when I go to fix it for supper? Also do you have any other freezer casseroles never have enough time to much going on chicken nuggets getting old

    • Reply
      Deseree
      February 17, 2010 at 7:35 am

      Hey Tara- The noodles shouldn’t get too soggy, simply make sure that the noodles are still pretty firm when you strain them. I’ll try working on some more freezer casseroles to see what I can come up with. If you want a change for chicken nuggets you can try my oven baked Sriracha chicken nuggets. They are pretty quick and easy. Hope this helps!

  • Reply
    diane
    February 15, 2010 at 9:20 am

    This is a great dish. I live alone and when the grandkids (all 7 of them), with 2 being teenagers, I whip this up. they love it.

  • Reply
    Kristin
    December 17, 2009 at 4:14 pm

    I just made this, and it’s soo delicious! I’m definitely saving this recipe and making it again. Talk about comfort food, yum!!

    • Reply
      Deseree
      December 17, 2009 at 10:24 pm

      Thank you Kristin! :)

  • Reply
    Deseree
    November 23, 2009 at 8:37 am

    Hi Jude- No worries if you don’t like it, it is not essential. I added it because I happen to enjoy green peppers on my pizza. You add it at the same time that you cook the onions, mushrooms and pepperoni. Hope this helps!

  • Reply
    Jude
    November 23, 2009 at 6:14 am

    Looks really good! At what point does the green pepper get added? I would probably leave it out since we’re not fans, but I wasn’t sure if it was essential to the heart of the dish! :-)

  • Reply
    Deseree
    October 28, 2009 at 9:53 am

    Thanks Muneeba! Sometimes old-fashinoned is the way to go. Unless maybe you are talking about acid wash jeans and 3 inch high shoulder pads. ;-)
    Karly- Thanks Karly! If you do make it I hope you all enjoy it!
    Your welcome RedKathy!
    Mike- I agree that good casseroles can be so comforting and on these cool autumn days there is nothing better. :)

  • Reply
    Mike
    October 28, 2009 at 9:41 am

    This looks incredibly satisfying; there’s something so comforting about a good casserole. So many good things rolled into one!

  • Reply
    redkathy
    October 22, 2009 at 5:21 pm

    Italian American all the way! I prepare casseroles a lot. This is one I must try, thanks for sharing.

  • Reply
    Karly
    October 22, 2009 at 7:23 am

    Ooh, pizza casserole! My kids generally don’t like casseroles, but I bet they’d love this one!

  • Reply
    Muneeba
    October 22, 2009 at 5:41 am

    I love casseroles … even though some ppl think they’re old-fashioned … but yours looks SO good! What’s not to love?!

  • Des

    Hey! I'm Des!

    Welcome to Life’s Ambrosia where Dinner is served and memories are made. Here you will find over 1000 tried and true recipes for every possible occasion. In the last 10 years, this blog has helped millions of families put dinner on the table and create food memories. Let me help you too.

    Read more »

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